Entomological Society of Ontario Conference 2015

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Entomological Society of Ontario’s Annual General Meeting, this year held at the Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS). Allison and I were invited to speak at the meeting and bring the BIObus along so everyone could learn how we promote insects, biodiversity and science to the public. QUBS was a beautiful venue, and since this was my first time visiting it, I was thoroughly impressed by it. QUBS property includes more than 3200 hectares including six small lakes, shoreline, forests and many buildings for sleeping, research, and conferences. The ESO attendees got a chance to tour the site with Frank Phelan the manager of QUBS who has been there for 40 years. I particularly enjoyed learning about their on-site library and herbarium. The biological station also has a wonderful dining area and kitchen where the staff prepared excellent food that we all enjoyed.

The Jessie V. Deslauriers Library and Herbarium at QUBSTouring the Jack Hambleton LibraryQUBS has a nice herbarium collection stored in the facilityThe boat house

The theme of the conference was education and outreach and there was great variation in talks including talks by students and researchers from a range of topics such as Syrphid flies, Algonquin Park biodiversity, mimicry in ultraviolet and many talks on education, outreach and social media. I was inspired by Morgan Jackson’s talk on how to use social media as a scientist to bring forth science information to a general audience and to get people engaged in it.

Giving my talk on the Global Malaise Trap ProgramAllison explains the School Malaise Trap Program in her talkMorgan Jackson navigates us through the world of social media

The BIObus was the main event for Saturday afternoon. Allison and I brought with us our usual educational offerings including insect displays, guide books, live insects caught at QUBS that we put into viewing cages and a slide show of photos from our travels across Canada. For a remote location we did receive some public visitors including some kids so it was great to talk to them about what we do. Conference attendees also were able to learn about insect trapping methods as we had many trap types on display.

Allison and Antonia enjoying our Entomology 101 afternoonThe BIObus was front and centre at QUBS’s Raleigh J. Roberston Biodiversity CentreMecury Vapour Light Trap and Lindgren Funnels on displayA large trap that you can hook onto the front of a truck for capturing insects!Conference attendees learning about pitfall trapsA great diagram of how a pitfall trap worksColin Jones shows how to properly catch and preserve dragonflies and damselfliesKids were able to catch some bugs!Enjoying my time at the ESO conference

If you’re interested in learning more about entomology I suggest you join the ESO. Membership is free for Canadian students and amateurs. It’s a great way to connect with people actively working in this field.

A Send Off For Spiders

A Send Off For Spiders

Hello everyone,
The summer is quickly coming to a close and with it, my summer position at BIO, but this isn’t the end for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to secure a part-time position once again working on spiders during the upcoming fall semester. In light of this, I figured I would fill this final blog by listing three of my favourite spider species.

Starting off this list is the Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) which may even be in your own backyard. Preferring flowers, shrubs, and tall plants that receive an abundance of sun, this spider likes to hang out in fields and as its name implies; gardens. This moderately large species is common in Southern Canada and has brightly patterned abdomens with silver haired heads. This is why they were given the genus name Argiope which means something to the effect of gilded silver-face. The yellow garden spider is easily identifiable, but as another means of identification, we can look to the web. In the center of its web lies a dense zigzag pattern known as a stabilimentum. Its function isn’t known exactly, but the best guesses thus far are that it camouflages the spider, attracts tasty insects, or makes the web more conspicuous to flying birds. Next time you’re walking through a sunny field, keep an eye out for these attractive spiders.

The yellow garden spider waiting patiently on its web. http://goo.gl/M7Gwia

Next in my list is the diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica) which holds the unique esteem of being the only spider to live entirely underwater. It’s able to do this partly because of the hydrophobic hairs that cover its abdomen and legs. When the diving bell spider submerges itself in water, the hairs capture an air bubble on the abdomen which allows it to breath underwater. This method is used mainly when the spider is actively travelling through the water. When the spider feels like being sessile for a while, it retreats to its underwater web. These webs are heavily modified to function like the diving bells of the 17th century which kept a small pocket of air trapped within its confines. This trapped air provides the diving bell spider with a home in which it can digest prey, molt, and mate. Similarly to human abodes, these webs require constant upkeep. The main chore is repeatedly venturing to the surface and returning with a fresh supply of air for the web. Despite the webs permeability to gas exchange for oxygen and carbon dioxide, there is a net loss of nitrogen which results in a continuously shrinking air bubble. Unfortunately for Canadian arachnologists (but perhaps fortunately for Canadian arachnophobes) these spiders are found only in the freshwater ponds and streams of Europe and Asia.

A diving bell spider. http://goo.gl/giwznU

Rounding out my list is the charismatic peacock spider (Maratus volans) which earns its name from the males unique mating display. Part of what makes this display so interesting is the brilliant abdominal colouring of the males. Any spider with colours like the peacock spider is usually considered ‘cute’ by arachnologists, but the peacock spider is also a member of the jumping spider (Salticidae) family and boasts all the attractive characteristics of the family. Namely large anterior median eyes, tufts of hair, and the shape of the head like segment called the cephalothorax. All these traits in tandem make the peacock spider undeniably cute. When it comes time to mate, the male raises his abdomen and fans out specialized flaps which creates an eye catching, white fringed, and colourful display – a courtship display very similar to actual peacocks. To make himself even more attractive to his potential mate, the male peacock spider conducts a series of abdominal vibrations and leg waves which only bolsters his charming persona. Unless you’re an Australian reader, you’re unlikely to find peacock spiders in your backyard. If this is the case, I highly encourage you to look up videos of this courtship display on the internet. They may entirely change your opinion of spiders!

A male peacock spider displaying for a female. https://goo.gl/dTqnga

Thank you to all those that have read my blog throughout the summer months. I hope I was able to entertain and inform at least some of you.